Infinity War Fix-It Fic
by AstroBookwormSinger
Summary: Just an Avengers: Infinity War Fix-It One-Shot Fanfiction :,) Because I'm still not over that movie. Also, spoiler warning for the aforementioned movie. Basically a happy ending one-shot to fulfill all your fangirl needs, where everyone lives, and everyone's happy. More than 12k words.


Thanos marched up to Wanda, an expression of resigned certainity and confidence on his face. So what if the girl had killed the Android and destroyed the Mind Stone? He had the Time Stone in his possession.

Or did he?

He raised his hand, but the Gem on his thumb didn't glow bright green and reverse time, as per his commands. He frowned, and tried again. Nothing happened.

He touched the Stone with his other hand, trying to detect the Stone's power. Instead, he felt nothing, but a faint echo of the power that should be his.

He growled, and turned around. Everyone was lying unconscious on the forest floor. He sensed that nobody here seemed to be hiding a powerful Infinity Stone within their pockets.

Thanos' mind started thinking up various scenarios. Had the Sorcerer _tricked_ him, despite his words?! Did that mean the Stone was still in his possession, inside that necklace? Or had he, by some chance, used the Time Stone to send itself back to the past, or to the future... No, that couldn't be possible. Two Time Stones couldn't exist at the same time. Unless the Stone in the future had already been destroyed too...

'You're a tiny bit late to the party, Titan.'

Thanos whirled around, to see a multidimensional sling-ring portal open in the sky, and out floated Strange, followed by Stark and the Spider kid, with the tail end brought along by Nebula and the bunch of mercenaries that he'd fought on Titan, led by Gamora's idiot boyfriend.

He brushed the thought of Gamora away and focused on Strange.

'I will ask you _once_ , Strange. _Where is the Time Stone?!_ '

'Definitely not with you, as you may have realized,' Strange answered cryptically. 'I've hidden it in a safer place than around my neck-'

'-As I suggested a _long_ time ago,' Stark added.

'...Yes, like that. I instead created an identical copy of the Stone with minimal powers that would fade away with time. The real Stone is safe, and only I can summon it.'

Thanos allowed himself a moment to comprehend everything. Then he smirked. 'You seriously don't think you can best me in battle? I've already proven to be superior once.'

'You mean how we almost pulled that gauntlet off, thanks to my brilliant plan, and you just got lucky?' Star-Lord asked. Thanos observed that he seemed to be somewhat emotionally stable this time around, and he didn't like it.

'And then you proceeded to ruin your plan yourself?' the Spider kid added. 'Come on, dude. You had _one_ job.'

Star-Lord turned on him with a frown. 'You're picking up Stark's sass. Listen here, _kid_ , you're not even eligible to argue with me. You're _sixteen_.'

'I can argue with _anyone_ who thinks that a movie like _Footloose_ is actually-'

 _Thunk._

An excruciating pain pilled Thanos, as his head hit something hard and prickly, which he assumed was the forest floor. The pain was emerging from his chest, and he opened his eyes to see an electric axe deeply embedded in it, as its wielder pushed it even deeper.

 _'That was for Loki.'_ Thor growled menacingly, his face contorted with both rage and pain. A part of Thanos realized that he too felt the same emotions right about then, but he didn't trust himself to speak while in that much pain.

More, considerably less painful stabs made their way up his arms, and he realized it was Nebula, Star-Lord, and Stark.

He turned back to Thor, a small smile creeping up his face.

'You should have gone for the head.'

He raised his left arm, and willed the Reality Stone to do its work. Within seconds, he felt the pain subside. When he opened his eyes, the axe lay broken at his feet, next to Thor, who seemed to be staring at his weapon, shocked.

Before anyone else could do anything, he used the Power Stone and Soul Stone to pull Strange towards him, and wrapped his free arm tightly around his neck.

'The Time Stone, please, or else Strange meets the same fate as your weakling of a brother,' Thanos spoke, chillingly.

Everyone else seemed to be considering their options. Around him, the others who had been knocked unconscious were regaining consciousness. He tightened the grip on Strange's neck.

'What is it?' Stark asked worriedly, and Thanos realized that Strange was trying to say something. He loosened his grip, just enough for his voice to be heard.

'I'll... Give you... The Stone.'

Thanos held back a smug smile. 'I'll release you _after_ you hand it over.'

'Understandable,' Strange replied. Thanos watched him as he summoned the Stone from wherever he'd hidden it. He seemed to be unnaturally calm during all this. It slightly disturbed Thanos, but the thought vanished as the green Stone floated in mid-air.

He left his grip on Strange, causing him to crumple into the ground. He held the Stone gingerly, before adding it into his Gauntlet. While Strange recovered, he used it to bring back Stark's Android, and ripped the Mind Stone from his head.

He felt the power surge through him as he united the Stones, and before anyone else could try and tamper with his plans, he raised his left hand. The six stones surged and glowed with raw, untapped, powerful potential.

 _Snap_.

* * *

Thor watched, dumbfounded, as people began to disappear, right in front of his eyes. First it was the entirety of the Guardians, minus the blue cyborg woman. Then it was Captain Rogers' comrade, the one with a metal arm, who called out to Rogers with his last breath. Then, slowly, all the other Avengers began to fade away too.

An anguished cry caused him to turn around, just to see young Groot disappearing. He reached out to Rabbit, but disappeared before he could catch hold of him. Thor gave him one last, sad look.

For the third time in his life, he was completely helpless to do anything to stop death and destruction. The first time, it was the destruction of Asgard, the only home he'd ever known. The second time was the most painful one; that horrible moment when Loki's body went limp in Thanos' hand... And all he could do was yell out, to somehow try to get help... _Get help..._

 ** **[A/N: OUUCCHHH I'm killing my own heart writing about Loki**** ❤️ ** **like this... Why, Marvel?!]****

He pushed the painful thoughts away and looked at his own hands, wondering whether he would join the rest of his family in Valhalla, but he seemed to be out of danger. He looked up to see Tony's young protégé - The Spider-like child - Whisper 'I don't want to... I'm sorry... ' as he vanished, right in Tony's arms. Ouch.

He turned to see Stephen Strange looking at him.

'Stephen,' Thor acknowledged. 'It's been a while.'

Stephen nodded, and Thor realized, to his horror, that he was disintegrating too.

Stephen looked straight at Tony. 'We've discussed this. You know the plan.'

Tony nodded.

'You have an infamous tendency to mess things up too. Don't screw up this time, otherwise we're all doomed,' Stephen added sternly, as his body completely melted into dust and ashes.

Tony sighed. 'No sh*t, Sherlock,' he replied, in a mocking tone.

Stephen smiled slightly. 'No sh*t Sherlock, indeed,' he replied softly, before becoming nothingness, fading from existence.

 ** **[A/N: I'm sorry for the cuss words. I don't usually cuss. But I couldn't pass up a chance to reference Sherlock with characters played by Robert Downey Jr. and Benedict Cumberbatch.]****

And, as quickly as it had started, it ended, leaving piles of ashes and dust where people with real feelings, thoughts, and a beating heart used to be.

* * *

Tony grimaced as Strange completely disintegrated. And sighed. And looked at Thanos.

'Yo, big wrinkly grape,' he called out. Thanos looked at him, slightly offended.

'Get a load of _this_.'

He felt his stamina lessen considerably as the all-too-familiar sound of charging up was heard, and then a powerful burst of energy that was the Unibeam from his arc reactor hit the Titan squarely in the face. He ignored the pain in his gut, where Thanos had stabbed him. That would have to wait.

'Feel free to help,' he called out to the others.

Thor was ready. He raised his hand, and a burst of lightning came out of nowhere as the skies darkened. Huh. He didn't know that was possible. And where was the classic -I-only-respond-to-Thor's-fingerprints hammer?

Sounds of gunfire reached his ears as the Wakandan army too turned on Thanos, holding highly-charged ray guns. Huh. That was impressive tech. He hoped that FRIDAY's back-up would reach soon, partially because he couldn't allow the Wakandans to take all the glory for cool tech.

Another sound of charging up reached his ears, and he saw the repulsors on the Hulkbuster powering up. Rhodey was helping too. He grinned, awaiting what would come. Just like that one time with Whiplash, as soon as Bruce's and Rhodey's beams touched his Unibeam, they exploded where they met, which just happened to be Thanos' face.

The ground shook, and everyone was thrown off of their feet. Tony didn't waste time. He got back up, and ran towards Thanos, who was... Unconscious? His face was charred, and didn't look too good, so he hoped that he would be out for at least five minutes. He bent down - _Ouch_ , that stab wound won't leave him alone, would it? - And pulled at the full Gauntlet.

Another pair of strong arms caught and pulled at it too, and he turned to face none other than Steve Rogers.

He didn't know how long he had stared in complete shock, trying to register that Steve was back, and they were somehow working together again. He had changed a lot, the most obvious and noticeable thing being the beard. He looked a lot like Quill and Thor now. And had an impressive new shield.

He must have stopped pulling at the gauntlet, because Steve looked at him and yelled, 'Tony pull!'

Typical Capsicle. Always focused on the war, and the task in front of him.

 ** **[A/N: I swear I'll stop with the A/Ns but MY HEART- OUUCHHHHHH]****

More fingers covered around the Gauntlet. It was Thor, who looked horrible, now that he looked closer. His hair, his eye, his hammer, and apparently his smile were all gone forever. He looked grim with purpose, and his eyes burned with either rage or pain. Tony knew that look so well. Pepper had told him countless times that he got that look too many times for his own good.

 _Pepper..._

What would she think if she saw Tony, here and now? That is, if she were still alive...

Tony pulled harder, with a greater resolve, vaguely aware that everyone around was trying to help. He had to do this, for everyone who had ceased to exist. Especially Vision and Peter Parker. _It was almost off..._

Thanos' hand twitched, and for a moment, everyone froze, looking at him. _No, not now, just a few seconds more..._

His eyes fluttered once, twice, and slowly opened. _No, please, I promised Stephen Strange, I can't let all those lives go..._

Thanos blinked and took in everything for a moment. He seemed to be confused about something, like he'd come out of a bad dream. _Ah, come on, what was this Gauntlet made of?!_

Everyone pulled their hardest, each one doing it to avenge one closest to them, one who had been lost in the battle. By Thanos' hand. Because that's what they were supposed to do. Avenge. Avenge things, people, lost hopes and dreams, the future that may have been, deaths and destruction... All of it. They weren't the Avengers, Earth's Mightiest Heroes, for _nothing_.

With a thunk, the Infinity Gauntlet fell to the forest floor, just as Thanos turned his head towards them and realized what had happened.

* * *

What exactly was Tony's plan, he didn't know. But he seemed to have some sort of a strategy, and Steve decided to trust Tony on this.

He didn't realize how much he'd missed Tony's presence and partnership. He had been thoroughly surprised when he saw him drop out of the portal, seemingly out of nowhere. And who were the others with him? He recognized nobody, apart from young Parker.

And now, Parker was gone. Along with so many other people who may never come back... Starting with Bucky. Steve was still in shock about how Bucky had simply vanished into thin air, his surprise still on his face, Steve's name still on his lips...

He snapped out of his thoughts when Thanos stood up fully, his face fierce.

'Come on, now, _heroes_ ,' he said, mockingly. 'That doesn't belong to you.'

'Uh, since when did it belong to _you_?' Tony shot back.

Thanos wildly lunged for it, causing Tony to fall to one side, his arms tight around the Gauntlet, unwilling to let go. He fired a repulsor, but missed.

Thanos bent forward to grab it once more, but a shot of lightning to his face caused him to yell and turn away momentarily. When he opened his eyes again, Thor had the Gauntlet.

'You can pry it from my dead hands, Titan,' he called out.

'And before you start making threats to innocent people, let me tell you that you can go ahead and threaten to kill whoever you want,' Tony added.

 _What?!_ Steve blinked. _Sacrifice?_ Tony may be reckless, but he never put others' lives in danger willingly... He caught Tony's eyes, and his confusion and mild concern must have shown in his face, because Tony gave him a look of absolute resolve. He had that faint twinkle in his eyes, that he usually got whenever he came up with ideas for newer, more advanced tech, or with a good joke.

Steve relaxed. _Tony had a plan._

Thanos stared at Tony, as if trying to figure out exactly what his plan was. However, Tony seemed to be the only person in on the secret, because Thor was giving Tony a slightly surprised look too. But whatever it was, he seemed ready to help however he could. Needless to say, Steve felt the same way.

Suddenly, like an animal's sudden reveal right before pouncing on its prey, Thanos whirled around and ripped a tree from under the soil. Thor must have seen what was happening, because he started to run for it, but the tree came flying through the air and found its mark on the back of Thor's head. Within a few seconds, he was out cold, collapsed on the Gauntlet.

Steve didn't even know that he was walking towards Thor until his feet touched Thor's hair. With one swift motion, he had seized the Gauntlet and secured it between his two Wakandan shields.

He turned around to see a horrifying sight indeed.

Thanos had stabbed Tony squarely above the chest, below the neck, with a sword that seemed way too tiny for him. Next to him, a woman with blue skin with cybernetic implants was desperately trying to stop Thanos, so Steve assumed that the Titan had grabbed her sword.

'Captain Rogers,' Thanos spoke, and Steve had to force himself to look up into the dark eyes.

'I have great respect for you, and therefore, will allow you _one_ choice. Return the Gauntlet to me, and I can use the Time Stone to save Stark's life. If not... Even without the Stones, I can easily outmatch all of you, through mere physical strength and wit alone. One by one, or all together at once, attack however you want... I can snuff out your lives as well, and you can join your lost friends. Consider wisely. You have a minute.'

Steve bit his lip. Trading the Gauntlet for Tony's life. He would do it in a heartbeat if he didn't know the power the Gauntlet possessed, and the destruction it could do. It had already taken away far too much. But all of them... The remaining Avengers were all that were left. They were the only ones who had a chance to save the world. And even though Thanos had been temporarily beaten, Steve knew that if he really wanted, he _could_ actually beat them.

The strategically wise thing to do would be to ask Thanos to first spare Tony's life, and then hand over the Gauntlet. But that was practically impossible here, because the Time Stone required to undo the qounds was _in_ the Gauntlet... _Jesus Christ._ Steve shook his head aware that time was running out.

He looked at Tony. He was bleeding heavily from both his gut and where he'd just been stabbed. Steve hadn't noticed the other wound before. It looked painful, and by the looks of it, inflicted quite a while ago.

Their eyes met once more.

Tony looked pale, and was clearly struggling for consciousness. But, very subtly, he shook his head at Steve, his eyes still blazing with resolve and purpose. The meaning was clear. _Don't give him the Gauntlet._ But could Steve let one of his closest friends go like this, when they had _just_ reunited again?

'Time's up, Captain. What's your choice?'

Steve couldn't look at Tony's face, or at Thanos'. He squeezed his eyes shut, and hung his head, as he held the Gauntlet tighter. He didn't want to trust his former ally as much as he wanted to do, given his record history of reckless accidents, but in this situation, it seemed like the right thing to do, even if it meant that the lives of the other half of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, and the universe's only hope to reverse the damage, were at stake.

Steve had made his choice. He would follow Tony's last order, even if it meant that he would go down doing it.

Thanos seemed to have understood Steve's choice, because he pulled out the blade from Tony, rather harshly. With a finality, Tony fell to the floor.

And just as everyone once more prepared to fight, to defend Thanos with every once of strength that they had, the skies darkened, and a huge, all-too-familiar plane floated above them.

* * *

Thor didn't understand the noise all around them, nor did he feel like getting up. It felt like the whole of Asgard was crushing him down.

 _Wait... That couldn't be true, because Asgard was destroyed, wasn't it?_

Thor opened his eyes, and smelled the fresh grass before his eyes registered blades of grass. And something was on top of him, but it wasn't Asgard. It was a tree.

Memories came rushing back to the Asgardian god, and he sat up quickly, pushing off the tree. He felt mildly dizzy, and his head hurt worse than a hangover, which meant that he clearly had a concussion.

He'd only had a concussion once before, which was when he was a teen. He had tried to use Mjölnir secretly, and had accidentally hit himself in the head while swinging it around, as it had been too heavy for him to control. Fortunately, Loki had found him passed out in the weaponry vault, and had done some healing magic, and they had both agreed to not tell anyone else about it.

His ears registered the loud noise once more, and memories came rushing back to him. He immediately looked around for the Gauntlet, but it wasn't there. But then why was everyone cheering around him?

Yes, the loud noise was that of cheers erupting everywhere around him. He tried to stand up once, failed, tried again, and stood, albeit leaning heavily on a nearby tree. His vision cleared, and he saw a huge quinjet in the forest clearing. Thanos was nowhere to be seen.

A familiar person was standing at the entrance of the quinjet. He had his quiver strapped to his back, and his archer's bow in one hand. He seemed to be conversing with Steven and Rabbit.

'B-Barton?' he asked, not sure if it was really him, or if his concussion was causing hallucinations.

Steven turned around. 'An, Thor, you're awake. Sorry I couldn't help you.'

'That's perfectly fine, Captain. Where is the Gauntlet?' Thor asked worriedly.

'Safe, with me.'

Thor turned around to see who was speaking; his dizziness had gone by now. It was a young woman, with blonde hair and a blue-and-red uniform emblazoned with a golden star. She had the Gauntlet with her.

 ** **[A/N: This is how**** ** _ **I**_** ** **imagine Captain Marvel to be. Nothing much from the MCU has been released yet, so I can't ascertain her personality. Just... Roll with it.]****

'Are you with us, or against?' he asked, warily.

'With,' Steven replied, walking up to him with Barton. 'Thor, meet Captain Marvel, AKA Carol Danvers. She's Fury's friend. Carol, meet Thor, god of thunder and lightning, and Prince of Asgard, which is a realm in space... I think.'

' _Ex-_ prince, Steven,' Thor corrected.

'What? Why, did Loki do something again?'

Thor grimaced. 'No. The realm was destroyed. It is a long story, for another time.' He turned to the other Captain. 'A pleasure to meet you, Miss Danvers. Thank you for your assistance.'

'No problem. And you can call me Carol. I would have come ages earlier to help, but I was... _Occupied_.'

'Carol, if you may,' Steven spoke. 'We have some unfinished business, regarding the Gauntlet.' Carol nodded, and they both went off.

'Hey, old buddy,' Barton said, a small smile on his face.

'It's been a long time, Barton,' Thor replied, graciously. 'How have you been?'

'Crazy. When I wanted to retire, I was called back for the whole stupid Superhero Civil War thing. Now, when I _want_ to help with the issue, I'm under house-arrest. I wonder whether the cops will grant me official release, or at least a concession, considering that I saved Tony's back-up from being stolen.'

Thor wasn't sure he'd heard right. 'What Superhero Civil War do you speak of?'

'Ah. Right. You weren't there.' He sighed. 'In your own words, it's a long story, but for another time.'

'How's Tony?'

Barton bit his lip. 'Critical. The only hope is the Time Stone. If we can use it to reverse the fate of one particular individual, everything will be taken care of. Hopefully.'

'Is it Stephen Strange?'

'How do you know him?'

'We - Stephen and I - Go a long way back.'

Barton shook his head. 'I never met the guy, but from what Cap tells me, he sounds a lot like Tony, personality-wise. But the magic and all - Portals, having an Infinity Stone under his possession - All that sounds far too much like... Certain other people.'

Thor flinched visibly.

'Sorry, pal,' Barton added.

'Loki...He- he's _changed_ , Barton,' Thor said, the pain in his voice evident. 'He's saved my life many times. And he's- he's _gone._ For good too, in case you were wondering.' He turned away

'I'm sorry,' Barton said. Thor didn't know if the sincerity in his voice was true or not.

Just then, a clatter of footsteps was hears. A small contingent of the Black Order army came rushing at them. Thor stepped forward, but Barton held him back.

'Watch,' he whispered.

Thor saw as Carol Danvers came out of the quinjet, the Gauntlet no longer with her. She marched forward, and - To Thor's surprise - Floated above them all, and stretched out her hand. A couple of energy blasts from her hand flattened the army.

'Wow,' was all Thor could say.

'Impressive, right?' Barton asked. 'She's been a real asset.'

'She reminds me of... Someone.'

Thor became slightly painfully aware that along with being an Avenger, he was also King of Asgard - A role he never wanted in the first place. He knew the a handful of Asgardians had escaped Thanos' attack, led by Korg and Miek, but what of Valkyrie? She was the last of her kind, and an impressive, brave warrior. Thor couldn't lose her. But he didn't know where she was, at all. For all he knew, she might have died at the hands of Ebony Maw, along with Heimdall. Thor desperately hoped that she was safe, and that the few survivors were safely hidden in one of the Nine Realms.

Barton must have caught the worried look in his eyes, because he reached up and patted his shoulder reassuringly. Then Miss Romanoff called him from within the quinjet, and he had to go.

 _But where was Thanos?_ Thor didn't realize that he had been subconsciously wondering this question until he noticed that the huge, violet Titan was nowhere to be found. But nobody seemed to be too worried, so he hoped that everything was under control.

'Uh Thor? You might want to come in,' Steven called out, poking his head out from within the quinjet. Thor nodded, and walked in.

The inside was much larger than how it looked from the outside, surprisingly. Almost everyone was inside, either tending to their wounds or trying to ascertain the amount of damage done the the universe.

Rabbit looked up at him. 'Good to see you still in one piece. Sorry 'bout your axe.'

Thor nodded. 'Thank you for your assistance, Rabbit.'

He cringed. 'Yeah, about that... It ain't _Rabbit_. It's _Rocket_. Rocket Raccoon, but don't call me a Raccoon.'

Thor nodded. 'I apologize, Rocket.' Then he saw Steven bent over a makeshift bed, and walked up to him.

Tony looked horrible. His heart rate seemed to be alright, but Thor knew excessive blood loss when he saw a wound. It would take time, but Tony just might make it.

'Captain,' a voice spoke. Both Steven and Carol turned around. The speaker, Thor recognized, was one of the members of the Wakandan army; the Dora Milaje, is Thor remembered correctly. She gave Miss Carol an apologetic look and turned to Steven. 'The sorcerer has arrived.'

'Thanks, Okoye. Hopefully... He can solve this mess.'

She nodded, slightly tearfully. 'Wakanda just got a new king. We can't afford to lose him. Shuri is too young to take the throne just yet.'

'Shuri made it, then?' Steve asked.

Okoye nodded sadly. 'She is devastated to hear what happened.'

'If I may ask, Captain,' came Nebula's voice from behind Okoye, as she came up the boarding ramp. 'Can we... Trust the guy, whoever he is?'

'I assure you of that,' Bruce replied from behind Thor. He had just come out of the cockpit. 'Wong is Doctor Strange's partner, and has sworn to protect the Time Stone. If anyone can use it properly, it's him.'

Nebula nodded, coming inside. She paused briefly near Okoye, hesitated, then looked at her. 'Tell Princess Shuri that I'm greatly saddened by her loss. Trust me... I know how it feels like to lose a sibling at the hands of Thanos.'

'Convey all our regards too,' Thor added. 'It indeed hurts to lose one you love so much, simply because of Thanos' desire for a peaceful life.'

'And escort Wong in, please,' Steven added.

Okoye nodded to all of them respectfully, and marched out. Steven shot Thor a questioning look.

'What happened to Loki?'

Thor shook his head. 'Later, Steven. I cannot right now.'

He nodded, understandingly. Thor remembered at he'd lost his brother-in-arms as well. He didn't know the man's name, but he seemed like a good man. Rab- _Rocket_ had mentioned his metal arm amidst the battle, when they had fought side-by-side.

'So how's the grape?' asked Barton, to Nebula. Somewhere in between all that, Bruce had returned to the cockpit, and Barton had taken his place. Thor could also distinctly hear Miss Romanoff's voice from inside, along with that of Lieutenant-Colonel Rhodes and a few others.

'Deeply unconscious,' Nebula replied, without a hint of remorse. 'Captain Danvers' extremely powerful energy blast may have knocked him out cold for at least an hour. At any rate, we have time.' She gave Miss Carol an impressed look, before heading back out.

Miss Carol smiled faintly. 'Good to know that I helped... Somehow.'

'And, just in case he wakes up, we got back-up,' Steven added. 'Precisely, a man who can grow to 65 feet or shrink to a couple inches at will. He's inside the cockpit, guarding the .'

Tony groaned suddenly, causing everyone to jump and look their way. Tony seemed to be regaining consciousness.

'We need to get that Wakandan healer, quick,' Barton muttered.

Just then, the silhouette of a man, dressed in robes and a cloak, filled the quinjet entrance. 'Perhaps I can help.'

* * *

Clint watched nervously as the sorcerer - Wong - gently extracted the Time Stone from the Gauntlet; Nat, Rhodey, Scott, and Bruce at his side.

He then cupped the Stone with both hands, and somehow generated some sort of portal in the air. Clint could only see pitch-black on the other side of the portal.

He then released the Time Stone and did some finger-tutting, and the golden portal-borders got a green ring added to it; the color of the Time Stone.

Wong's face was scrunched up in concentration. The Time Stone slowly revolved in his hand, and the portal remained the same way, except the green was glowing brighter and brighter.

Particles of dust started floating out of the other side of the portal, which, Clint guessed, must be what the Doctor became after The Snap. They slowly solidified into the shape of a man. The portal closed, and Stephen Strange lay unconscious before them.

Wong - Who, by now, had beads of sweat on his forehead - Let out a sigh of relief. Everyone stared at the form of Strange in silence, until Thor asked, 'Is... He alive?'

Wong bit his lip. 'The easy part of this process was bringing his body back. The hard part... Bringing his life back. I tried to do that just now. I'm sorry to say, I failed. It is a complex spell.'

'Perhaps, the other Stones can help?' Carol suggested.

Wong shook his head. 'Harnessing the power of all the Stones at once? Without proper expertise, that could turn out to be a disaster.'

'Yeah, no kidding,' the talking, jetpacking raccoon added. 'I saw a person hold the purple one in her hand... The entire area was flattened. And all that was in the presence of the Collector.'

'You know the Collector?' Wong asked, curiously.

'Yeah. Dude had an entire laboratory of items; totally living up to his name and fame. He was the one who told us about the Stones in the first place. We almost had a deal with him - The purple Stone, in exchange for crazy-rich amounts of money. But, you know, fate gets in the way of things sometimes.' He seemed pretty nonchalant about it, but there was an unmistakable undertone of disappointment.

'In that case... We all could hold one Stone each, and harness its power safely,' Nat suggested.

'But who?' Steve asked. I mean, we need magic or something, right?'

Wong thought deeply. 'How many of you do have extraordinary, somewhat magical abilities here?'

'Me,' Carol raised her hand.

'I,' Thor added. 'If you count godly lightning powers.'

'Is science counted?' Bruce asked timidly.

'If science is counted, then...' Scott added, unsure.

'Is a Super Serum counted?' Cap asked.

'Didn't the Wakandans have some sort-of magical Heart-Shaped Herb?' Nat asked.

'Yeah, but it was all destroyed,' Steve answered.

'Man, if only Vision and Wanda were here,' Clint couldn't help adding.

'And is Strange was... Awake,' the raccoon said. 'And alive.'

'Who knows, Tony may have had some tech to harness Infinity Stones,' Bruce added, thoughtfully. 'Maybe Wakandan tech can do something.'

Thor mumbled something about the Tesseract and Loki.

'Enough,' Wong added, sternly, and everyone fell silent. He thought for a bit longer, then said, with a finalty, 'Science doesn't count.'

'Magic is just science that we don't understand yet,' Bruce protested. Thor flinched slightly at that, for unknown reasons.

'Still. Shrinking and growing in size can't exactly do anything about Infinity Stones. And, if I remember correctly, you can't call the Hulk out.'

Everyone looked at Bruce, some with questioning looks. He bit his lip, then nodded.

Wong sighed. 'That makes three of us. Lord Thor, Miss Danvers, if you may-'

'Wait! There's someone inside!'

Everyone looked at Carol, awaiting an explanation for her sudden outburst.

She seemed unintimidated. 'Look at the Soul Stone,' she pressed, pointing to it. 'Touch it. You can feel a small vibration.'

Wong touched it, and his eyes widened, conforming the fact. 'It... Feels almost like a...'

'A heartbeat,' Carol finished, her eyes ablaze with anticipation. 'There's someone trapped inside of here.'

'Inside a Stone? Is that even possible?' Rhodey asked.

'Don't underestimate an Infinity Stone's capabilities,' Wong warned, before gently extracting the Soul Stone as well. He now had two Stoned floating in each hand, and he gingerly did some more magical finger-tutting.

A bright flash of light and a tiny explosion shook the quinjet. Clint thought that Thanos had somehow awaken again for a moment. When they could all see, a new figure was lying on the floor at Wong's feet. She had green skin and purple hair, and the unmistakeable look of a warrior.

'Holy stars!' the raccoon yelled in shock. ' _Gamora?!_ '

'Death,' Wong whispered, his hands still cupped around the Stones, and his face somewhat pale with revelation. 'For each Stone that Thanos acquired, someone has died, or has been threatened with death.'

Only silence followed, as everyone took in this new information.

* * *

Death? For _each_ Stone? Bruce tried to count down. He had the purple Orb/Stone first - Power, and he remembered something about an entire planet (Zandar or Xandar or something) decimated. Then, if Thor was right, then after the Tesseract/Space Stone was acquired, Loki had been brutally killed. Then... When Thanos had come to Earth, he had acquired the Time, Reality, and Soul Stones. And Vision had died when the Mind Stone had finished the collection. Huh. He may be right.

Rocket slowly walked up to Gamora. He didn't who who she was, or how Rocket knew her, but he trusted Thor, and he seemed to know them. He checked her pulse. 'I can't believe it... She looks like she's dead, but... I think she's in some sort of a deep coma. Or I _hope._ '

'Thanos did it, whatever it is,' Thor said slowly. 'I do not know of the details.'

Wong sighed. 'I don't know much about reversing deaths, or about the deaths caused by the Stone, and what connection they may have.' He looked from Gamora, to Strange, to Tony. 'But I can do one thing, the thing I came here for. I can heal Stark.'

He returned the Soul Stone to its place, then walked up to Stark. One, pretty simple-looking spell later, Tony gasped, and his eyes flew open. He sat up, taking everything around, slowly. His breathing slowed down. He calmed down.

'What happened to Thanos?!'

Steve hesitated, then clasped a hand on Tony's shoulder. 'Currently, not in any position to do any harm.'

'Steve,' Tony acknowledged, with a grateful look. 'And what happened to...' He trailed off, looking at everyone again. 'Huh. You guys got my back-up. Good job, Clint.' They finally rested on Strange's form, and his eyes widened again. 'Oh, crap.'

'Let me try it again,' Wong said. 'He's our only hope.'

And once more, he summoned up the portal, and used the Time Stone to add a green glow to the portal. Except this time, a glowing light emerged from the portal too. A tiny sphere of light that constantly changed color. It stepped out of the entrance of the portal, but that's when the spell broke, and it was sucked back into the void. The portal zipped close.

Wong was panting. 'I'm sorry, everyone. Death reversal is a hard concept. If only we had some sort of magic that could help.'

Bruce's eyes widened at that, and he looked at Thor, trying to catch his attention. Eventually, he did catch Thor's eyes - Wait, _eyes?!_ Nevermind, that was for later - And tried to convey his message without actually speaking.

Thor didn't get it, so Bruce walked up to him. 'Dude, Asgard. Your sister. I-'

'Hela may be the goddess of death, but she's dead,' Thor insisted.

'No, no, no, didn't you mention some sort of... Thing that can awaken the dead? Didn't she use it?'

'How do you remember? You were Hulk at that point.'

'I don't know, man, but I remember brief periods of it. Listen, man, the thing - Some sort of fire, right? She used to to awaken her army.'

'By Odin's beard,' Thor exclaimed. 'You may be on to something. But Asgard was destroyed, along with my sister, so is the Eternal Flame even alive, at this point-'

Both Bruce and Thor became painfully alive of the fact that everyone was staring at them. At some point in their conversation, their voices had been raised, and everyone had most likely heard them.

'Thor,' Tony started. 'Exactly how many evil siblings do you have?'

'Trust me, I didn't know about Hela myself until a while back, and she's dead now. But... How long do we have? Do we have time to spare?'

Wong mused. 'About a day, at most. If this incident isn't reversed soon, then the consequences may be irreversible, given the circumstances.'

'We get it, no need to be so obscure and cryptic,' Rocket muttered.

'Listen,' Thor started. He seemed to be energized once more. 'I can get you the Eternal Flame within the time limit. It will help a lot.'

'You just mentioned that it may not be alive,' Clint pointed out.

'I know it's alive,' Thor protested. 'It's called the Eternal Flame for a reason. Rocket, how long would it take to get to Asgard, and back?'

'Depends on where exactly this "Ass-Guard" place is.'

'Quite close to where you found me.'

'Then it may take exactly a place... Wait, what are the co-ordinates of Earth again?'

'Co-ordinates of Earth?' Tony asked.

'Yeah, with respect to all of three-dimensional space.'

Bruce noted that Wong seemed to be amused. In such a dire situation, dude was actually smiling at Thor, Tony and Rocket trying to figure out exactly how far Asgard was from Earth. Did he know something that others didn't?

'You seem to be amused about all this,' Natasha put in, looking at Wong. _Aw, dang it, I was going to say that..._

Wong shook his head. 'Sorry. It's just... Describe Asgard,' he told Thor.

'Well... It's one of the Nine Realms... It used to be, until it was destroyed.'

'Say no more.' Wong put the Time Stone back, took the Space Stone, and used that to open up a sling-ring portal, covered with a barrier; the blue glow of the Stone. On the other side, lay a place that once may have been beautiful, but now, was ablaze and destroyed. Asgard.

'Oh.' Thor seemed to be slightly embarrassed to forget the existence and powers of the Space Stone. 'Well, then. I don't know if I'll be able to breathe in space...'

'Leave that to me, then.' Carol stood up. 'What does the Eternal Flame look like?'

'It's what Asgard is burning with, right now,' Thor pointed to the fire. 'And make sure that you're discreet about it.'

'On it.' She jumped into space, passing through the barrier Within literally ten seconds, she was back in, literally holding fire in her hand. Wong closed the portal.

'This thing's hot,' she said, switching it to her other hand.

'Hand it over,' Thor said. He held it gingerly, and Bruce noted that he seemed to have no problem with it.

'When I say so, place the flame on Stephen,' Wong instructed. And once again, with the Time Stone. he re-opened up the portal, and the tiny sphere floated out.

'Now,' he whispered. Thor placed the Flame on Strange's chest. Then a weird thing happened. The Flame reached out and, almost like a living, sentient being, grabbed the sphere, almost like a whip. It pulled the sphere down, and into Strange's chest, where it burned.

'With the Eternal Flame, you are reborn,' Thor spoke out loud, in reverence. Time was reversed, fate was changed, the Flame consumed the entire figure... And Doctor Stephen Strange lived again.

* * *

Stephen didn't know what the heck was doing on, just that he was surrounded by the Avengers and Wong on some sort of ship, the Gauntlet was safe, and that had had most definitely been on fire just a moment ago.

'Good to see you too,' came a sarcastic voice. Tony. He was alive, and perfectly healed.

Stephen realized that he was... Lying on the floor? He immediately got up, and brushed the nonexistent dust off of his clothes. He had a status to maintain; a reputation to uphold.

Immediately, a warm feeling surrounded his neck, and he felt a soft cloth dabbing at his hair, his cheeks, his eyes, as if testing out whether he really was alive.

'For the love of- stop it! Yes, yes, I'm alive- Okay, I missed you too,' he added, as the entire thing that was the Cloak of Levitation wrapped around him, almost like a hug.

Wong was smiling, but he quickly covered it in a gesture of clearing his throat and raising his hand to his lips. 'Good to have you back.'

'Thanks. Good to be back,' he agreed, and turned to Tony. 'Good job.'

' _Good job?_ ' Tony asked, incredulously. 'I saved your life, sacrificed my own, and all you have to say is-'

'Thank you, Tony Stark, for the extremely important role that you alone played in this war,' Stephen corrected, with unmistakable melodrama and overacting. 'The entire universe stands owing you gratitude that cannot be measured. _You great benefactors, sprinkle our society with thankfulness. For your own gifts, make yourselves praised-_ '

Tony rolled his eyes and cut him off. 'Shakespeare in the Park, much?'

'I hope you're satisfied with that,' came his prompt reply. Then, in a much quieter tone, one more respectful and grateful, he added, 'Thank you.'

Tony smiled tightly and nodded. And right then and there, they both knew that they had, somehow, in all this chaotic mess, formed a friendship.

'Alright then, where's Thanos?' he asked, looking around the room.

'Knocked out cold, somewhere,' came a voice, and Stephen's eyes widened when he saw who it belonged to.

'Captain Marvel,' he said, in disbelief. 'What a surprise.'

Her eyebrow went up. 'You know me?'

'We keep checks on everybody who has powers, which may be a threat to the peace of the universe. It's what we do.'

Carol Danvers didn't seem too convinced, but she went with it.

'And, what of the other people? The ones who vanished?'

Everyone silently and pointedly looked at him, and he understood.

'Ah. I see. And the Stones are safe?'

'And in perfect condition,' Wong replied.

'Alright then,' he couldn't help but give in to a small grin tugging at his cheeks. 'Let's get to work.'

* * *

They started with Gamora. Wong and Stephen did it together, and pretty soon, Gamora awoke with a gasp. She seemed to be pretty startled, and in shock in general. She calmed down slightly after being told that she was safe, Thanos was unconscious, and that the Gauntlet was with the Avengers, but she refused to speak about what had happened on Vormir to anyone, even Rocket Raccoon. Until Nebula came back.

Nebula had just entered the quinjet after her inspection of the surroundings, and Thanos' condition. She was midway informing the others that Thanos was still down when she froze, and eyes met her sister's, and almost immediately, she was almost immediately on the floor besides her. For everything that they had been through, they both seemed extremely grateful for each-other's presence. Sensing their need for privacy, everyone scattered outside (Rocket was only too reluctant - 'We're the _Guardians!_ We're like _family!_ ' - But he eventually waddled out.), the Gauntlet safe in Carol's hands.

Then the sorcerers decided to go big and undo all the damage in one shot, with Stephen confident that he knew a spell that could harness all six Stones at once. A huge magical circle, with a six-point star on it, appeared in the air, with each of the Stones on each point appeared in front of them, courtesy of the sorcerers. Slowly the circle started spinning, anti-clockwise, because they were reversing everything, and the ashes all around them slowly began to take form.

And soon, there were people all round them, who looked confused until their gazes met with that of those closest to them. Reunion, tears, and bittersweet emotions were thick in the air.

The Avengers were full again, and everyone was finally home. Home, because home was where their heart belonged, and there was no place in the universe they would rather be in right now.

* * *

Steve and Tony looked around, side-by-side, as the ashes of people slowly reverted back to their original forms and regained life.

'It's been so long since I stood alongside you, Tony,' Steve started.

Tony sighed. 'Can we not bring it up?'

'What?'

'Can we, like, ignore the whole Civil War thing happened and just... Go back? To how things were?' Tony sounded slightly desperate.

Steve sighed. 'Tony... You know things will never be the same.'

'Goddammit, you just _have_ to make this hard.'

Steve didn't reply.

'I know,' Tony went on, 'That we'll never be the same. The Avengers will never be the same. But still... It's about darn time we look past everything. I seriously miss making fun of you every time you swear.'

'And I've missed your constant sass, sarcasm, and horrible puns... Amongst other things,' Steve cracked a smile, but it immediately faded. 'Tony, I'm sorry.'

'No, Cap, we're having none of that-'

'I _need_ to say it. I'm sorry, Tony. For keeping it from you. You... You deserved to know. They were your parents. It's just... I never found the opportunity. I found out about it after we did a bit of research, after the Winter Soldier incident... I was still in shock over it. And I never found an opportunity afterwards.'

Tony nodded. He didn't know all parts of said 'incident' but he knew that Steve had never been the same after it.

'It's alright. I _mean_ it,' he insisted, when he saw Steve's slightly hurt look. Dude had clearly beaten himself up for it. 'Look, I've seen a man react to his girlfriend's death just about a few hours ago, and while he had good reason for it, it led to severe consequences.' He sighed. 'I've been thinking. You had good reason, Cap.'

'But it was still wrong-'

'Listen to me- _No_ , do _not_ interrupt. You had a good reason, and I didn't see it then. I see it now. It wasn't really his fault either. And I...' he paused, then stated in a clear and declarative voice, 'I forgive you. _Both_ of you. And I will personally speak on behalf of your faction of the Avengers the next time I meet the UN, and after your personal assistance in this whole Infinity Stone incident, I'm sure they'll welcome you back with open arms.'

At thins point, Steve's eyes had tears in the, though it could also be because Bucky had just reappeared. Tony smiled and patted him. 'We'll talk more later. Go on.'

Steve simply nodded, and walked on. Bucky was lying on the forest floor, on the exact same spot, with his hands outstretched, just the way Steve remembered. He looked peaceful, like he had decided to take a small nap.

Tony watched on, but got distracted by another figure appearing in front of him. It was peter Parker. His mask was still in his hand, and he looked like he was having a nightmare while sleeping. His eyes flew open, and took in his surroundings.

A part of Steve didn't want to disturb Bucky, but the other part wanted to make sure that he was okay, and alive, and so he knelt down and shook him gently. Bucky, who never slept too deeply, awoke instantly, and looked around, before looking up at Steve. His eyes lit up with relief.

'Mr. Stark... Where am I? Why...'

'You're safe, kid. You're on Earth, Thanos is out cold, the Gauntlet has been removed, and everyone's coming back. You're alright.' His voice sounded much more relieved than he was comfortable with, but Tony didn't mind at the moment.

'Steve...' Bucky tried to get up, but got pushed back down.

'Are you alright?' Steve asked, the concern obvious.

'What happened to me?'

'You mean, everyone who vanished, they're- They're safe?' He seemed relieved, too, and Tony felt a tiny pang of regret, for having pushed the kid to take on the responsibility of people's lives at the age of sixteen. He was too young, he was too naïve...

Tony pushed those feeling aside, and smiled slightly. 'Yeah. The entire world is going to be alright. How are you feeling, kid?'

'Better, now that I've heard that,' he smiled brightly, and Tony couldn't help but smile too. His relief and happiness were dangerously contagious.

'It doesn't matter, Buck. You're safe now, you're alright...' Steve trailed off. _Was_ he alright?

Bucky must have caught his worried look, because he smiled. 'Yeah, I'm alright. Better than before. You?'

Steve sighed, then smiled at his semi-stable century-old friend, wider than before. Bucky had spent his entire life looking out for Steve. Even being brainwashed didn't stop him from saving Steve's life. It was almost like looking out for his safety was in his very blood.

'I'm going to be fine, now that you're here.'

'What happened to your wound?' Peter asked, suddenly worried. 'You got stabbed, didn't you?'

'I'm fine, kid, stop worrying so much,' Tony chided. 'You're too young for this.'

'Well, I'm an Avenger now, aren't I?' Peter smiled. 'It's all worth it.'

Tony couldn't help it - He hugged him. He didn't want to admit to, but he very much enjoyed being a parental figure to Peter, and he was the perfect protégé by all standards.

They had shared a hug countless times before, but this one was different. This one signified so many emotions, all of them couldn't possibly be put into words, with relief being the most prominent one. They seemed to melt into each-other's embrace. Oh how far they had come... From before the first World War, to the 21st century, and somehow, they had reached where they were - Torn and broken by battle, but reunited at the end. Together, at at home.

'Steve- Are you alright?'

Captain America had always been a strong figure, a fearless hero. Someone the entire nation could look up to. But Steve Rogers? Steven Grant Rogers was never just a superhero, with no fear. He was a real human, with emotions. And so, for the first time in two years or so, he let the tears fall. No just for relief, but for all that could have been, all the damage that had been done. For everything that had been lost.

'Steve, it's alright. I'm not going anywhere. We made it. I wasn't kidding when I said that I'll be with you till the end of the line.'

And they remained that way, lost in the moment, their surroundings forgotten.

'Mr. Stark?'

'Yeah?'

'That was a real hug, right? You weren't trying to reach anything?'

Tony smiled. 'Of course it is, kid. We've reached there.'

* * *

Thor couldn't help but smile. He hadn't seen so much happiness and emotion in one place since... He couldn't even remember.

Everywhere, around him, half the universe was coming back into existence, and reuniting with those they love. Everyone, except... Well, him.

He _was_ happy for everyone, nevertheless. Just the amount of relief in their faces was enough. But still... A vital piece of all this was missing, and it didn't feel the same for Thor.

He noticed the Stephen had collapsed on the floor, and hurried up to meet him.

'Stephen, are you alright?'

'Fine... Just exhausted,' the sorcerer replied, sitting up. He made no attempt to stand up. Wong stood beside him, his two hands cupped around the six singularities, holding them as if they were radioactive. Which they were.

'That was the most difficult spell that I've ever cast.' Stephen shook his head. 'I have you all to thank for my life, though.'

'And, in return, we owe you the lives of half the universe,' Thor replied graciously.

'You give me too much credit.' Stephen smiled, then surveyed Thor up and down. 'You've changed a lot since we met the last time.'

'Many things happened...' Thor sighed. _And Loki was with me through all of it._ 'If I may ask, how far back did you reverse time, for those erased from existence?'

Stephen thought for a bit. 'Until Thanos destroyed Xandar and acquired the first Stone.' He looked at Thor. 'Are you asking for Asgard? Because reversing too back in time has its own consequences as well. I'm sorry. If you _really_ insist, though...'

'It's alright. Ragnarök was always meant to happen. Nevertheless, I have found another home amongst the Avengers.' _And with Loki._ But he knew that he was the only person here who knew that his brother was truly not evil anymore. Nobody would understand, or trust. It was for the better.

 _But if Stephen had reversed time back to before the destruction of Xandar..._

 _No, stop it,_ he told himself. Don't expect it. His mother had told him that expecting too much from any person or situation would certainly lead to disappointment.

Miss Carol came forward to help with the Infinity Stones, and they all started conversing about magic and spells and such. Thor politely moved away, and leaned against a tree, taking in everything with his eye. No, his _eyes._ He realized that he never actually thanked Rocket for the spare eye. He must do it soon.

Miss Carol came up to him. 'Lonely?'

'Very,' Thor agreed. 'I wonder where the Asgardians are... I need to find them. I have a duty, as a king...'

He trailed off, realizing that Miss Carol wasn't looking at him, but at someone behind him. 'Who's that?'

Thor turned around, and- _...By the gods of Asgard._

It was Loki.

He was leaning against another tree, watching Thor intently, for who knows how long. He seemed to be doing his best to remain invisible through all this, and he was doing a pretty good job. That small smile on his lips... It felt as though Thor hadn't seen it for eons.

Miss Carol excused herself and went to safeguard the Stones, but Thor didn't listen. It was as if the entire world's lights and sounds had been snuffed out. He had eyes for one and only one person.

'Loki.' His voice was thick with emotion. 'You're alive.'

'What did you expect?' He seemed genuinely curious.

Thor shook his head. He didn't know that he had walked all the way to Loki until they were mere inches apart.

'Why?' That question summed it all up. Thor needed to know why. Why Loki did every single act that he'd done. What his purpose was. _Why._

Loki looked at Thor, and there was a lot of bottled-up emotion in there. 'In the past, I was... Ignorant. Of many things that have opened my eyes now. But when I faced Thanos... I meant it to be my last act.'

'So you did die.'

'Indeed. And, by some sort of twisted fate... Here I am again. I keep cheating death so much, no wonder Hela disliked me.' He gave a watery smile.

Thor turned away. 'I can't believe it.'

'Believe what, brother?'

 _Brother._ That word, used by both of them, yet only one of them had actually meant it, whilst the other had often used it in mockery. Until today. _Until now._

'Everything. Everything that happened. It all changed so fast. We were just Princes, remember? Before it all came crashing down.' He looked up again. 'I wish it went back to that.'

'It can never go back to that.' Loki's voice shivered.

'Why not? You _belong_ , Loki - I don't care what anyone tells you. I don't care that you were not born as an Asgardian. You belong there, as much as you do-' Thor pointed to his chest, '-In _here._ '

Loki shook his head, clearly not accepting that. 'I was never meant to be a Prince of Asgard. I- I was _abandone_ d, Thor. _I wasn't meant to live._ '

'And yet, you found a place with us, by fate. My best memories of childhood are those with you by my side. Never _behind_ me, but _beside_ me.'

'And yet,' he continued, his voice heavy with pain and regret, slowly rising with every spoken word, 'You somehow continued being Father's favorite child. His heir, his pride. And I was meant to be nothing, but a mere stolen relic, kept until I had use, when I could be used as a peace treaty to end a war. Odin _never_ meant for me to sit on the throne. I was _always_ an _outcast_! On Asgard, Jotunheim, Midgard-'

'Stop it!' Thor couldn't take it. 'Stop. Please. Odin... He was a good king, but not a good parent. I understand that now, after I saw what he did to my other siblings, instead of what he could and should have. But Mother loved you, with all her heart-'

Loki turned away from Thor, facing the other way. 'She loved us both, as equals, while you-' he poined at Thor accusingly, 'Continued to be the _favorite_ Prince of all-'

'Don't you get it?!' Thor cried. _'You were always_ my _favorite!'_

Loki's hand dropped. Silence.

'You were so focused on being Father's favorite son, for all those years,' Thor continued, 'That you never noticed how much Mother loved you. You were _always_ my favorite, Loki. The person I trusted with all my heart, the one with whom I wanted to stand beside for all of eternity.' He sighed, and his voice cracked on the next words. _'You still are.'_

More silence.

'Do you remember, the moments before my coronation?' Thor asked. When Loki didn't reply, he went on. 'You were ready to support me through it all. You even summoned snakes from that wine because you know I love snakes.' He smiled softly at the memory. 'Remember what you told me?

'You told me that you had waited for that day as long as I had, and that you would always love and stand by me.' He sighed. 'That was before I learnt a few lessons and learnt to give up my arrogance.' He paused for a moment. 'I admit, I was not fair to you at times, too. But today, and now, I stand here, and I promise you, I want to convey the exact same things back to you.

'You have done a lot of things, yes. You have attacked Midgard, killed so many innocent people, and somehow took Odin's place and banished him into exile, causing his death, and Hela's return, and eventually even Asgard's destruction as a whole. But, each time, you believe that you're doing something that's right, and will earn you something. And by the end of the day, we have stood together, side-by-side, because that what we were meant to be, Loki - Stand by each-other, together, united.'

He walked up to his brother, and placed a hand on his shoulder slowly, softly, as if afraid. Afraid that he really wasn't there, or that it would be brushed off. But Loki _was_ there, albeit still as a statue.

'When Thanos killed you,' he spoke softly, 'I wanted to go with you. I had no family, after all, and the majority of my people were dead. But family isn't determined by blood. It's who you choose. And I knew I had to make your last words come true, and make the sun shine upon us again. I took it as my mission; my purpose.

'You influence me a lot more than you think you do. I care for you, even when I claim not to. Your death nearly tore me apart. But once again, fate gives us another chance. I just wish, as I always have, to heal what's been hurt, and somehow, save and bring back the lost Loki who was once my brother, my equal, and the one who used to love me with all his heart, as I used to love him.'

Thor expected many things. He expected Loki to yell at him, to to even ignore him. He hoped for forgiveness and unity. But he didn't expect what happened within the next 5 seconds.

Thor was pushed back with a force he never expected, and was backed against a tree. And on his shoulders, with his arms wrapped around Thor like he never wanted to let go... Loki. He was trying to say something, but it was lost amidst the silent tears.

And once Thor came to terms with it, he hugged back, to make up for all those years spent apart and on opposite sides of battle. They didn't know how long it took, or who was watching. They didn't care. For Thor, this was the best thing that had happened to them since the Avengers' formation.

At last, Loki spoke. 'I- I still _do_ , brother. I still _do_ care. Why else would I swear my allegiance to you in what I _knew_ were my dying moments?'

Thor wasn't sure he heard right. 'What?!'

'When I was speaking, to Thanos... About my undying loyalty? I meant to for you. I wanted you to know... Before I died... That I was truly your brother and stood by you. And only an _absolute idiot_ like you wouldn't get that.'

Thor was stunned into silence, but Loki went on.

'Not just that. I made sure to die before your eyes, to give you a purpose. You fight well if your intentions are justice and peace, but if you have a personal purpose and motivation... I've seen you fight. I know that you would push yourself to avenge me. I trusted your rage more than I trusted you.'

Thor smiled. 'Not all of us are as clever as your cunning brains, Loki. If only you had used them for the right thing...'

They remained lost in the moment, lost amidst their emotions, for who knows how long. Sometime in the middle, they had sunk to the ground, tired of standing, still connected. Everything was going to be alright now, for both them and the universe. Hopefully.

'Loki? Everyone's leaving. Do you want to go?'

Loki stood up, slowly, after finally letting go of Thor. The places where his hands had been felt cold to Thor, but his heart was ablaze as he stood up too.

'Thor?'

'Yes?'

'My trust on you far outweighs my trust on myself. Promise me... That you'll never let me go.'

'Never again in my life.'

 ** **[A/N: I finally finished THE scene! You know, the one above, which is something I've always imagined, and the one that kick-started this entire fix-it fic... Hopefully, it lived up to your expectations too. And if you don't get the deeper meaning in the last piece of dialogue right there, please ask in the comments. I'll reply with the explanation.]****

* * *

Peter Quill paced back and forth, before looking around again. Where was everybody else? The only people who he recognized where Stark and the _other_ Peter, who were both deep in conversation. _None_ of the Guardians were around?!

It had taken some time, but he knew that everyone who had evaporated into thin air had been reborn somehow, as time had been reversed. And Thanos must have been defeated, because nobody seemed concerned with him. He didn't question it. But he didn't find any of the Guardians. Where in the universe were they?! Back on Xandar, perhaps? Oh, wait, Xandar was destroyed. But was it still?

He shook his head and determinedly walked in another direction, hopefully to find someone, and bumped into someone.

'Ow!' she complained.

'Ah, sorry, I was just-' He froze when he saw the Gauntlet in her hands. 'You guys finally removed the Gauntlet?!'

'Ah, yes,' she smiled, and there was something about her that seemed... Off to Peter, though he couldn't put a finger on it. 'Thanos is out cold.'

'Huh. Impressive.' He felt a pang of guilt at that. He had somehow screwed up his own brilliant plan, and could have averted all this anyway. But how was he suppsed to keep his cool when he'd just learnt that-

Gamora.

'Do you know where the Guardians are?' he asked, with a slight urgency that he didn't explain.

'The Guardians? You mean the group with Nebula and that raccoon?'

'Yes! Yes, them - Where are they?'

'In the quinjet - That ship, over there. I think the others are back as well.'

'Thanks, uh...'

'Carol Danvers. I usually go by the persona of Captain Marvel.'

Peter did a double-take. ' _You're_ Captain Marvel?!'

Danvers looked quizzically at him. 'Somehow, everyone seems to know me.'

'No, it's just... You're somewhat famous back home for stuff that you did in the 90s.'

'Back home?'

'The Andromeda Galaxy.'

Now it was Danvers who seemed surprised. 'Are you some sort of alien species?'

'Uh, I'm half-Celestial. Call me Peter Quill, or Star-Lord, as most do. I was on Earth until 1988, when I was... Long story.'

Danvers seemed mildly impressed. 'Huh. I'm half-Kree myself. Good to know that I'm not the only hybrid around.'

She was half-Kree? That explained a lot. But Peter had other appointments. 'I'll catch you later.' Without awaiting a reply, he ran for the funny-looking ship and burst in.

The interior was much larger than he expected. As fate would have it, literally every Guardian except him was there. Drax and Mantis had paused mid-laugh about something. Rocket and Groot were arguing (typical), and Nebula sat on the bed, talking something in a serious tone with her sister.

 _Gamora..._

'Huh, took _you_ long enough,' Rocket said. 'Everyone found their way back to the quin-something-or-the-other ship ages ago. Except you.'

'Yeah, well, everything was new to me,' Peter protested. 'And you have no right to speak, Rocket, after you abandoned the Guardians because you liked Thor more.'

'Yeah, well, he actually made sense. He had a purpose. And I wasn't going to miss out on Nidavellir!'

Nebula let out a weary sigh. 'Typical of you two. Argue the moment you reunite.'

Peter sighed. Then looked up, to Groot. 'So are you all going to explain where you went, adventuring with Thor?'

'I am Groot,' Groot replied. ' _I_ am Groot, I am Groot. I am _Groot!_ I _am_ Groot.'

Peter was impressed. 'Not bad. I heard somewhere that you made quite an entrance into Wak-whatever this place is.'

'Uh, translation?' Nebula asked.

'Nah, it's the same story that I told you. Not much difference, except the touch of sarcasm that was very much unnecessary, Groot.'

Groot ignored him.

'We just finished trading stories!' Mantis informed him.

'And having a competition, as to whose adventure is the most... "nerve-racking," as Rocket put it,' Drax told him. 'I keep telling him that my nerves are all fine, but he insists otherwise.'

'And so far, _their_ story somehow beats all of ours, even though we went on one hell of a quest,' Rocket finished, pointing to the sisters.

Peter looked up, and their eyes met. And Gamora, who hadn't smiled throughout all this time, gave a tiny smile to him.

'Aw, look, the lovebirds need some alone-time, everyone,' Rocket announced gleefully.

Peter snapped his head around, blushing. 'That's not- _Don't_ call us that.'

Drax grinned. 'I told them what I saw while I was invisible.'

' _What?!_ For the record, you _weren't_ invisible. And why would you do that?!'

'I was right all along!' Mantis exclaimed excitedly, clapping her hands. 'I told you, when we first met, remember? You didn't believe me.'

'I am Groot~' Groot added, in what was unmistakably a cheeky singsong tone.

Peter went even more red, as Rocket snickered. 'Now, let's not go _that_ far.'

Nebula couldn't hide a smile herself. 'We'll wait. Outside.'

And they all scattered out, murmuring to themselves.

 _Ah, Awkward silence..._ Peter forced himself to look up at Gamora, who was observing him curiously.

'So... What adventure did you go on, that beats our own?' he asked awkwardly, trying to break the silence.

He immediately regretted it, because just thinking about it seemed to drain the energy out of Gamora. He merely shook her head.

'It's okay... You don't need to tell me... Yet... If you're not ready.'

She nodded gratefully. 'Thank you.'

 _More_ awkward silence. Even awkward elevator music would be better than just plain, deafening silence.

'Tell me one thing, Peter,' Gamora spoke, and he looked up expectantly.

'Why did you punch him in the face, right when you had almost removed the Gauntlet?'

Peter groaned. 'I... I was an idiot, alright? I thought... I thought that... I didn't expect you to die! I didn't know what I do, I...' He stopped, and shook his head. 'I screwed up. Big-time. I'm sorry.'

A warm hand cupped his cheek. 'Don't be. It is human to have emotions. Besides, Drax told me that your friend - That Doctor Strange person - Saw about 14 billion possibilities, didn't he? If he didn't have a problem with that, it means that he saw it coming. It means he allowed it for the best.'

She stepped even closer.

'Thanks for keeping up your promise... Or trying to, at least. Also... I'm honored, Peter. To be someone you love so much, that you would ruin your own brilliantly-forged plan, because you were overcome with pain.'

Peter smiled at her lovingly. 'Gamora, you have a way of making everything much, much better.'

And they kissed, thankfully without any interruptions, or "invisible" people watching this time.

* * *

It was a wild party of emotions outside, but Gamora felt a lot better already as she stepped out, and her hand left Peter's.

Everywhere, only rejoicing and reunion - What a wonderful sight. She knew that it wasn't just Earth, that all around the universe, people must be celebrating. Which made it all the better. If there was ever a point in the universe where everyone was the most happiest and relieved, then this must be it.

Groot came up to her and tugged at her hand. 'I am Groot?'

'Uh...' She looked at Peter for translation. Even though all the Guardians minus Nebula were learning to speak Groot after spending so much time with him, Peter and Rocket were the most capable of understanding. Rocket was even starting to get fluent.

'He asks if we're taking part in the party. What party?' Peter asked

'The celebration at SHIELD today evening, for a lot of reasons,' Tony replied, walking up to them. 'The re-union of the split factions of the Avengers, my engagement, the _other_ Peter's rite of initiation into the Avengers, the defeat of the biggest threat to the universe, for everyone to get to know each-other, and my charismatic awesomeness in general. Are you guys staying? Literally _everyone_ else is.'

'Are you kidding? Yeah we are!' Peter replied, excited.

Gamora couldn't help but add on. 'Include another reason to your list - Star-Lord's first girlfriend,' she grinned, gesturing to the two of them. 'Yours truly.'

Peter opened his mouth, then shut it, going slightly red.

'Ah, so you must be Gamora?' Tony asked, smiling as he shook her hand. 'I've heard a lot about you. I'm Tony Stark, the one and only Iron Man. We already have another cute, just-reunited, newly-dating couple, one I'm _really_ proud of and happy for, so welcome to the club.'

'Thanks,' Peter replied. 'You know, I have this idea for the party...'

Tony raised his hand. 'Nope. You're _not_ overriding my idea this time. And trust me. This genius billionaire philanthropist knows how to party _hard_.'

Gamora would have taken part in the conversation, but she saw a faint movement in the middle of the tress, somewhere to her right. For some reason, she knew exactly what it was.

'Excuse me for a moment,' she said, and walked towards where she'd seen the movement. Another pair of footsteps joined her soon.

She turned around, and wasn't surprised. 'Nebula.'

'I'm _not_ letting you face him alone. Not again.'

She kept walking, and Gamora ran to catch up with her. And, true to her instincts, there he was.

'You're awake,' she stated simply. Thanos did nothing, but sadly stared at everyone rejoicing for their returned loved ones.

'Whatever you're planning to do, don't try it,' Nebula warned him.

But Thanos shook his head. 'I mean no harm to them. Not anymore.'

Neither of the sisters bought it. 'Really?' Nebula asked, her eyebrow raised, her pupil-less eyes showing pure skepticism.

'I... My only motive for destroying half of all live was so the other, surviving half could live peacefully. But, seeing how they rejoice... They seem happier with those they love, than with enough resources to last for themselves.'

'That,' Gamora said, 'Is because every life matters. Each one has a purpose of being born. And you must know how hard it would be for them to live without someone they love... Right?'

'Of course, Gamora. Never doubt that.'

'Then why? Why do you deprive them of that love and joy?'

Thanos sighed deeply. 'I saw what happened to my own species. I didn't want anyone else to suffer the way we did. But it seems... My motives were wrong.'

'No. You had good intentions,' Gamora assured him. 'But you chose the wrong way of acting upon them.'

'What else could I have done, to ensure enough resources for each and every peron, when there aren't enough for all?'

Nebula shook her head, somewhat exasperated. 'You could have - Oh, I don't know - _Doubled the resources?!_ '

'She makes a good point,' Gamora said, when no reply came. 'The Stones can do anything. And instead of destruction, you can choose creation. Nobody's harmed. Nobody's hurt. And everyone gets to live a happier, more plentiful life.'

Thanos was silent for sometime longer, then replied, 'I never thought of it that way. We Titans... We were a warlike clan. But... That is a most convincing point, Nebula. You have my respect.'

Nebula seemed stunned into silence, as if Thanos had never complimented her before.

'But it's too late. I don't think I will be trusted with the Gauntlet again.'

'You know, nobody's truly evil. And once the Avengers understand your intentions... I'm quite sure that many of them will agree with you.'

'Are you sure?' Thanos seemed wishful, desperate even. To, perhaps, finally find a place in this world when everyone had rejected him throughout his life.

'Well,' Nebula mused. 'There's only one way to find out.'

And they walked forward bravely, creating an end to Earth's biggest threat, and another new beginning for everyone.

* * *

 ** **A/N: I have a hell lot to explain about this one-shot, but I won't do it here. This chapter's too long as it is. That's for a separate chapter, which I will post within the next couple of days. I hope you enjoyed it, and have a great day :)****


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